Magic.
In ancient times, Magic was often linked with something unknown. The sun was magical and often a deity. If someone sent an arrow, from a long distance, he had a magical bow, created by a mysterious ancient civilization. Or, "simply" to transform something into another substance.
Magic is the intention, process and product of making everything much more fantastic, through something we think is humanly impossible.
It's the feeling we convey to a cake, a kiss we give by the sea or it's a climb we do alone and fills us with life.
Magic is mysterious and simple, which leaves us in awe.
It is something that cannot be explained, either by words or by gestures.
Magic simply is.
In Fantasy writing, as in Worldbuilding, Magic is not just another layer that has to be created and developed to make our world and our narrative much more appealing.
It is one of the most important pillars of any text within the Genre. A bad Magic System can wipe out a whole series of books. And, because we don't want that, Magic is something that will have to be thought and controlled by the author, in order to immerse the reader in the narrative.
That's why, today, we talk about building Magic Systems and my rules for developing a good magic system.
⚠ Writing warning (take a pen and write the following sentence) ⚠
The author's ability to resolve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands that magic
Sanderson's First Law
Hard or Soft?
At this point, you must decide if you want something more structured and explained or something more subtle and mysterious.
Different points of the spectrum may suit each type of narrative best.
Try analyzing your favorite books, movies or series in order to understand what you personally like best. This inspiration will make you enjoy writing something similar to your "idols".
Once you've defined what your magic system will look like, just draw a line and place it on the spectrum along with the other works you've analyzed.
Like so:
|-------------------<>--------------------|
Move the marker to one side or the other as you make changes to your magic system. You can also set this hardness at the end, when you have all the information.
Hard - Has well-defined and expressed limitations, weaknesses, and costs. The harder it is, the more predictable the magic system becomes.
Soft - It has tension and unpredictability proportional to the scarcity of information given about it.
This distinction is vast and has numerous contents that talk about it in detail. Brando Sando himself, the king of magical systems, has recorded video lessons. Take advantage of everything at your disposal.
Basic Concept
Start by defining what characterizes your magic system in a sentence and then in a single paragraph.
Write something like:
"Manners maketh man!"
Then a paragraph:
Different people have different personality traits that can originate different types of power. Each Manner allows its user to command others through his mind, using this behavioral aspect.
Limitations
Define the limitations of your magic system. Initially, 3 or 4 points should be enough to detail your limits.
- What is or is not possible within the magic system.
- Main characteristics of the Magic.
- Are the rules defined by God or another entity?
Ex: The Manners are what separates us from the animals, so God attributes them to Man. - Who can practice magic, how is it attributed and how often.
- Born with it or given/taken away by the Gods?
- Agreement with Demon?
- By using an artifact?
- Accessible to all?
Ex: Accessible to all Humanity but only when using a cane. - Training
- Where do you learn to use Magic?
- Who teaches it?
- Restricted?
Ex: Restricted program of the Kingdom of Condoria, where you learn to be civilized, with the Lords of Etiquette. - Exceptions
- Does any person or artifact allow the person to manipulate Magic, without having to be limited by some of the rules?
Ex: Legend has it that, wielding the Cane of Destiny, the Supreme Knight will educate all civilization and bring peace to the world.
Costs or Consequences
Typically, the cost or consequence of using a particular power or magic is characterized as physical or energy loss. The most used trope is that of fatigue.
Personally, I don't dislike physical exhaustion, and I've used it, but if you manage to get an original cost, you'll end up with a much more detailed and attractive magic system.
You can have several costs or just one. The more variants you want to give, the better you'll have to twist around the narrative, to surprise your readers.
Write a short paragraph about the cost:
If the user of the Manners fails to conquer the other, he/she will lose politeness and become a little more rude, depending on the strength of each one's civility. In extreme cases, he/she may even start spitting on the floor and scratching his lower parts in public.
Influence
After defining the Rules by which users are limited, you must spread them throughout your world and record where day-to-day activities, and even civilizational activities, are affected or influenced by your Magic System. With this, you will weave a complex web between Magic, World, History and Folklore, making them all into one.
This amalgamation of worldbuilding layers leads to a narrative cohesion that is sure to drag and hold your readers into your story.
Personally, I organize the points as follows:
Architecture / Engineering:
1- Roofs with top hat silhouettes
2- Hangers to put canes everywhere
3- ...
Technology:
1- Mass Manufacturing of walking canes
2- ...
3- ...
Communication:
1- The higher the Charisma, the more people can speak by telepathy
2- ...
3- ...
War, Medicine, Economy, Education, Arts and Entertainment, Recreational Activities.
Magic in the Narrative
All this work was done so that we can put it in our story and make it seem like a credible part of our world.
To maintain the suspension of disbelief so that the reader can satisfactorily experience the full range of fantastic details that we are putting before him.
So I think the final step will be to think about the Characters with the Magic in the Narrative, which you can put in a table, each one with their power.
Anthony - Charisma
Carl - Respect
Manny - Chivalry
Then just write a short paragraph for each, specifying how they get involved in your story:
Anthony - With the Master's Cane, he obtains all the Manners, except the one of Respect, which will be given to him later by Carl, and with which he will be able to summon the Great Gentleman and the Animal Army of Affection. All of them end up enhancing Charisma, which is Anthony's main source of power.
Carlos - With the Golden Cane, obtains the Way of Respect, which is taught to him by the Princess of Jolkiner, after saving her from the Warriors of Namina, despite only unlocking it in Chapter 12, in order to summon The Courteous Army and, consequently, helping to win the Battle of Condoria.
Manuel - I think I've made my point...
To finish, I leave you the most important rule of all,
NEVER BREAK THE ESTABLISHED RULES!
All this will accomplish you is break the immersion and make readers lose interest in your story. Think of all the work you went through to throw it all away now.
